Overdue

Welcome to Genie Babies, a magic carpet ride of a podcast from the boys here at Overdue! On our newest show-within-a-show, we're reading Husain Haddawy's translation of Muhsin Mahdi's manuscript of The Thousand and One Nights (also known by its westernized title, The Arabian Nights).  Some Patreon supporters get these episodes monthly, but every two months we'll combine them for general consu...

Everything happens for a reason in James McBride's new novel. It's September of 1969 and a doddering Brooklyn deacon just shot the neighborhood's top drug dealer. The events set in motion touch every member of the community - from its 102-year-old founder to the fire ants in the boiler room - and help them build a future as the world changes around them. Our theme music was composed by  Nick...

Can our podcast truly capture the depth of a renowned Brazilian novelist's final work? This question mirrors one asked by the narrator of The Hour of the Star, whose attempts to portray a young woman's pitiable existence are hindered by his fears that he will never do her story justice. Also, Craig talks into a sock. Our theme music was composed by  Nick Lerangis . See Privacy Policy at https...

The Games may have ended, but we're still hungry! We travel back to Panem for the close of Collins' trilogy about Katniss, Peeta, and revolution. It's time to talk (a)political messages, rickety love triangles, the limits of a hero's POV. If you aren't caught up on our Hunger Games journey, go give  Episode 400 or Episode 410 a listen! Our theme music was composed by  Nick Lerangis . See...

Sometimes a book is about exactly what it says on the cover. Oyinkan Braithwaite's debut novel is plenty dark but surprisingly funny, exploring sibling dynamics heightened by the fact that there is serial killing involved. Our theme music was composed by  Nick Lerangis . See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-i...

Craig loves dinosaurs, so Andrew let him talk for an hour about Steve Brusatte's recent book for dino devotees. Time to talk T-Rexes, Sauropods, and graphic depictions of the end of the world with our live Patreon chat. Our theme music was composed by  Nick Lerangis . Special thanks to the Patreon supporters who joined us in the live chat. For more info on how to participate in bonus episode...

Special guest Margaret H. Willison joins us this week to talk about the consensual, gay, historically accurate romance novels of KJ Charles. Our theme music was composed by  Nick Lerangis . See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

How could a dream upend your life? Would you stop eating meat? Embark on a ruinous affair? Desert your family? Han Kang's The Vegetarian asks visceral questions about our capacity for violence and what'd be willing to give up to be rid of it. Our new theme music was composed by  Nick Lerangis . See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/...

Candide is a novella-length takedown of the idea that we are living in the best of all possible worlds, as ordained by God. These days it's hard to believe we need a whole book about this but it's pretty funny anyway? Our new theme music was composed by  Nick Lerangis . See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-in...

Noted symbologist Robert Langdon has to "solve" a "mystery" that "references" Dante's Inferno! Let's see if he can crack the clues before the whole world succumbs to a transhumanist disease (yes, that's a real sentence that makes real sense.) For context, this was originally released in late May for some of our Patreon supporters. *** As we say in the pre-show, we've donated to the Marshall Projec...

This week we read an (1) explicitly autobiographical (2) non-fiction (3) graphic novel, things we don't usually do! But we try to have a useful discussion anyway. This episode, like most of our shows, does not pass the Bechdel Test. Our new theme music was composed by  Nick Lerangis . See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do...

Welcome to the last official installment of HELLBOYS, a Divine Comedy podcast from the boys here at Overdue! On this episode, we wrap up our journey through Robert and Jean Hollander's translation of Dante's Divine Comedy. Some Patreon supporters get these episodes monthly, but every other month we release them for general consumption. This episode carries us to the end where we meet a Who's Who o...

Jhumpa Lahiri's second short story collection focuses on the experiences of second- and third-generation Bengali-Americans, people caught between the futures they're trying to build and the pasts they're trying to honor. Her direct, compelling writing style makes these slices of life particularly affecting, as do the characters and the misfortunes that befall them. Our new theme music was composed...

Orlando is an English nobleman in the 16th century who, by the end the Woolf's tongue-in-cheek biography of the character, is an English noblewoman in the 20th century. It's quite a journey for all involved! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

My grandmother asked me to tell you about this podcast. It's about a book by Swedish author Fredrik Backman, and it's about a precocious young girl named Elsa and her quest to deliver her Granny's letters of apology. It's a fairy tale - of sorts. It's also a story about coming to grips with the world's complications, with the ways in which we are all more than we appear at first glance, and with g...

Llama Llama Red Pajama On a podcast with his mama! We read llama books to kids To make them close their small eyelids. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

What's a boy to do when his dad is the bumbling Chief of Police? Solve crimes, of course! Join us as we solve The Mystery of How Donald J. Sobol Wrote Detective Fiction for Kids! Special thanks to the Patreon supporters who joined us in the live chat. For more info on how to participate in bonus episode recordings, head to  patreon.com/overduepod . See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/priv...

Fair warning: this book's a bit of a bummer! Agee's autobiographical A Death in the Family centers on the aftermath of the automobile accident that took his father's life in 1915. It's a poetic exploration of grief and trauma -- which may not be everyone's cup of tea these days! Ways we try to lighten the mood include: It's a Wonderful Life musings, Andrew's Heavenly Dogs, and a bunch of words tha...

For this, the highest of holy days, we've revisited the Choose Your Own Adventure-verse with R.A. Montgomery's Smoke Jumpers. Come for the information about what it's like to be a trainee firefighter, stay for the ranger who sounds a whole lot like Strong Bad. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

The arena calls our name again, and we must volunteer as tribute! It's time we talked about Suzanne Collins' second novel about the dystopic land of Panem and their annual Hunger Games. Tune in for a discussion of revolution, game design, and underbaked love triangles. Plus, Andrew goes a-Googlin'! If you aren't caught up on our Hunger Games journey, go give Episode 400 a listen! See Privacy Polic...

Welcome to another installment of HELLBOYS, a Divine Comedy podcast from the boys here at Overdue! We're continuing our journey through Robert and Jean Hollander's translation of Dante's Divine Comedy a few cantos at a time. Some Patreon supporters get these episodes monthly, but every two months we combine them for general consumption. This combo episode carries us further into space where we mee...

The Shadow of the Wind is a complex noir-ish mystery set in post-WWII (and post-Spanish Civil War) Barcelona. Come for the endearing characters, stay for the Byzantine explanation of what is going on! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Katherine Arden's debut novel is a potent mix of Slavic folklore, Russian history, and good old-fashioned fantasy. We dig into which of those ingredients work best within the scope of The Bear and the Nightingale's story, but first we take a moment to debut Andrew's new classic catchphrase. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#d...

When Andrew read The Colour of Magic, people suggested that the beginning of the Discworld series was not necessarily the best place to start. Guards! Guards!, the eighth book in the series, is the start of its own contained-ish arc. According to our listeners and many readers, this serves as a more suitable jumping off point. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy...

There are some cars you just shouldn't get into! Michel Faber's thriller Under the Skin is about Isserley, the driver of one such dangerous vehicle. Why do all the men who get into her car disappear? Is she even really human? Are you ? Hop in for the answers to these questions and more! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-no...